Bates Motel: Why the Psycho-Based Series is Set in the Present Day

IGN:
Creating a prequel story to Psycho is a bold move, given how beloved the film is, but A&E’s upcoming Bates Motel is notably taking the story of a teenage Norman Bates and moving it to the present day. Speaking about Bates Motel at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour today, executive producer Carlton Cuse (Lost) said that it was an easy call for him to move the series to the present, rather than the 1950s (to line up with the 1960 film), explaining, “The idea of doing a contemporary prequel made it clear that what we were doing was something that was inspired by Psycho but not an homage to Psycho, and that was a big difference to us.”